Egyptian Bazaar

Located next to the Yeni Cami (New Mosque), it is the second largest covered market in Istanbul. This famous bazaar with its countless shops selling spices and sweets was always a gathering place for tourists. (We are 400 meters away.)

Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar, built in 1461 by order of Sultan Mehmet II, is the largest covered bazaar in Istanbul. Shaped like a huge maze it is spread over more than thirty thousand square meters. Its 60 streets house over 3600 shops selling everything from leather jackets to fine fabrics, jewelry to handicrafts. It is rightfully a tourist magnet and unique to Istanbul. A visit to this City is not complete without it. (We are 1000 meters away.)

Gülhane Park (the old zoo)

This historic park originally served as the grounds of Topkapi Palace from where the Ottoman Empire ruled half the known world for five centuries. Its gardens once awash in a rainbow of roses bloom next to a small forest which provides peaceful walks to this day. In 2003 the park was rebuilt by the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul, providing a living monument to a glorious past that paves the way to the City’s exciting future. (This park is located 50 meters from our hotel.)

Maidens Tower

The subject of many legends this fanciful tower is built on a tiny island located off the coast of Salacak where the Bosphorus flows into the Sea of Marmara. The Tower, which takes its name from the tale of a damsel in distress dating from 24 B.C.E, was refurbished in the year 2000 as a restaurant where ancient romantic whisperings still resound amid tinkles of forks and appetising aromas of fine food. Transportation to the island is by small motor-boats that depart from the docks of Salacak, Kabat and Ortaköy.

Palace Cistern (Basilica Cistern or submerged palace)

It is the largest underground cistern in Istanbul and was built in the era of Justinian I to supply water to the palaces that were in the vicinity. (Our Hotel is at a distance of 200 meters from this magnificent artifact.)

The Basilica of St. Sophia

The Byzantines built this basilica in the fifth century after Christ and meant it to last forever. They must have done it right because it shimmers in all its former glory to this day. It is considered by many historians as the eighth wonder of the world (It is located 300 meters from our hotel.)

The Blue Mosque

An Ottoman masterpiece built in the Seventeenth Century by the architect Mehmet Ağa Sedefkar, it is one of the most famous mosques of the Moslem world. Sunlight that filters into it turns blue as it reflects the colour of the mosaics that cover the walls and gives it its nick-name in English. The Blue Mosque sits across a landscaped garden from Ayia Sophia fusing the two Empires that shaped Istanbul’s eventful history. (It is located 500 meters from our hotel.)

This Month in Istanbul

CONSERTS AND ACTIVITIES

Venue : Turkcell Kuruçeşme Arena
Date/Time : 3 June Thursday, 21:30
Ticket : Ayakta: 135 TL
Sahne Önü: 360 TL
From her breakthrough multi-platinum album “A Girl Like Me” to her ubiquitous global smash “Good Girl Gone Bad,” in just a few short years, Rihanna has helped redefine the path of popular music for a new generation. Now, she continues that musical and stylistic journey on one of the most hotly anticipated new albums in recent history, her fourth original studio album, Rated R.

Venue : Turkcell Kuruçeşme Arena
Date/Time : 2 June Wednesday, 21:15
5 June Saturday, 21:15
7 June Monday, 21:15
Ticket : 1. Kategori: 134 TL
2. Kategori: 112 TL
3. Kategori: 89,50 TL
4. Kategori: 78 TL
Grease had its Broadway première in 1972 and has triumphed throughout the world. In 1979 Grease took over the record as the longest-running show in the history of Broadway and the hit film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John proved to be the highest-grossing movie musical ever.
Everywhere it opened Grease struck a universal chord with its irresistible mix of adolescent angst, vibrant physicality and 1950s pop culture. Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey created a perfect period piece - a pastiche of the 1950s: "fast, furious and thrilling, an injection of raw energy... and fun, fun, fun", according to The Daily Mirror.

Celebrating twenty years of 'Grease' mania, the film (produced by Robert Stigwood and Alan Carr) was re-released in the summer of 1998.

2003 saw Paramount Home Entertainment release a 25th Anniversary DVD of Grease. It went on to sell more that 750,000 copies – the highest DVD sales ever!

Talking of the show's appeal and purpose, the director David Gilmore explains, "Grease doesn't have a message ... it gives a flavour of being a teenager in the 50s when rock'n'roll and putting Grease on your hair were the most important things in life and this is the level that we should take it on.”

The International İstanbul Music Festival organised by İstanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, under the sponsorship of Borusan is inviting audiences to an impressive programme.

The International İstanbul Music Festival, sponsored by Borusan Holding since 2006 will take place between June 3-30. Including stars Arvo Pärt, Lang Lang and one of the most important orchestras of classical music, Vienna Philharmonic, The International İstanbul Music Festival will welcome over 500 local and foreign artists in its 38th year and will announce the arrival of summer with a prestigious programme.

In this year's İstanbul Music Festival, there will be 21 events including, symphony and chamber orchestras, vocal concerts, chamber music, recitals and jazz improvisations. As an addition to the classic venues of the festival such as the Hagia Eirene Museum, Archeology Museum, Tiled Kiosk, and Süreyya Opera House, Haliç Convention Centre also participates in the festival this year.

Venue : Turkcell Kuruçeşme Arena
Date/Time : 13 June Sunday, 21:00
Ticket : Normal Bilet : 99 TL
Sahne Önü: 370 TL (TÜKENDİ)
VIP: 265 TL (TÜKENDİ)
Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood continue their 2010 European Tour with a concert at Turkcell Kuruçeşme Arena on Sunday, June 11.

Venue : Turkcell Kuruçeşme Arena
Date/Time : 15 June Tuesday, 21:00
Ticket : Ayakta (Avantajlı Dönem): 80 TL
Vip A: 200 TL
Vip B: 150 TL
Multifaceted artist, not only recording artist, creator and performer of unique outdoor concerts, Jean Michel Jarre is also composer and lyricist of mile-stone hits in his native France and composer of international movie soundtracks.

Pioneer of one of the fastest growing trends in the industry today: electronic music, composer Jean Michel Jarre elevated the genre to new peaks of popularity as early as the late 70’s and 80’s with 60 million albums sold world-wide, to date. Emerging as an innovative international superstar, he creates a new format of out-door concert performance that has contributed to break the ground for a new generation of out-door rock concerts.

With the fusion of analogue synthesisers, cutting-edge digital technology, spectacular lasers design and lighting choreography, Jarre has conceived a show that encapsulates his signature expression and talent for creating milestone events.